Evaporative air-cooler



June 15, 1954 N. A. PENNINGTON ET AL 2,681,217

EVAPORATIVE AIR- COOLER Filed June 13, 1951 NEAL A-PENNIN, LAWRENCE AM: KINNEY IIIIIIIIIIIII I I :w II llllll l llll lllll INVENTORS,

agh- I 4 2 223 Patented June 15, 1954 UNITED STA OFFICE EVAPOR-ATIVE AIR-COOLER Tenn, and one-fourth t Roger Sherman Hoar,

South Milwaukee, Wis.

Application June 13, 1951, Serial No. 231,394

Claims. (01. 261-98) Our invention relates to new and useful improvements in evaporative air-coolers, and more particularly such coolers of the type in which air is adiabatically cooled by passing it through a forazninous pad, which is kept constantly wet with water.

Our invention is especially adapted for use in cooling the outgoing air in a summer air-conditioner of the type described and shown in U. S. Patent No. 2,464,766, issued March 15, 1949, to one of us, namely Neal A. Pennington; or for use in cooling the incoming air in a desert cooler, socalled; or for use in cooling the incoming and/or outgoing air in a universal air-conditioner of the type described and shown in the copending application of said Pennington, Serial No. 765,554, filed August 1, 1947, and now abandoned, without prejudice to two continuations-in-part, Serial No. 234,301, filed June 29, 1951, and Serial No. 234,800, filed July 2, 1951.

In the past, the evaporative pad of such coolers has usually been of one of two sorts, namely: (1) a fixed pad through which water, pumped continuously to the top of the pad, seeps downwardly through the pad to a sump; or (2) a rotatable pad, each sector of which successively rotates through a tank of water and then across the air-stream.

It is the principal object of our present invention to devise a more eiiicient arrangement of pad and water-source, whereby the pad or pads, preferably (but not necessarily) horizontal athwart a vertical air-conduit, are supplied with water by means of a new and improved form of sprinkler.

It is a still further object of our invention to devise such sprinkler.

In addition to the objects just stated, we have worked out a number of novel and useful details, which will readily become evident as the following description progresses.

Our invention consists in the novel parts, and in the combination and arrangement thereof, which are defined in the appended claims, and of which one embodiment is exemplified in the accompanying drawings, which are hereinafter particularly described and explained.

Throughout the description the same reference number is applied to the same member or to similar members.

Figure 1 is a horizontal section of our air-cooler, looking downward along the lines 1-4 of Figure 2. Portions of both the upper and the lower pad are cut away, to expose what lies beneath them.

Figure 2 is a vertical section of our air-cooler, taken along the lines 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a vertical section of air-cooler, taken at right angles to the section of Figure 2, along the lines 3-4 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is an enlarged side elevation of the sprinkler element as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 5 is an enlarged end elevation of said sprinkler, taken along the lines 5-5 of Figure 4.

Referring to the figures, and more particularly to Figures 2, 3, and 1, We see that II is the main casing of our invention.

Air enters at the bottom, through duct 12, into conduit 13. The top of conduit i3 is covered by a baiiile I 4, and above that there is a roof I5, each extending clear across the casing from front to rear as seen in Figure 2. Above the center of the roof there is a sprinkler It, which will be more particularly described later herein.

It will be noted that roof l5 and bafile M beneath it constitute a centrally-located bridge which extends clear across conduit 1 3 from front to rear, thus dividing the air-stream into two parts as the air passes through pad I 4'. This momentary division of the air-stream into two streams serves to get it past sprinkler it with the least impedance, and is the most convenient way to build the roof and baiiie.

From each edge of the bridge there extends horizontally sidewise to the side of easing l I, and completely closing half of the air-passage 18, a half-pad ll. Air-passage I 8 will be treated in the claims as a mere widened extension of con duit I3.

Louvres B9 in the sides of the upper portion of conduit 13, permit the escape of the divided airstream into the two halves of passage 53, beneath the two halves of lower pad ll.

Above the sprinkler, and extending horizontally clear across passage i8, there is a second, or upper, pad 20. This upper pad is only about half or less as thick as the lower pad.

It wil be noted that the bridge serves as a convenient central support for the very heavy lower pad 11.

The sides of casing l i slope downwardly in- Wardly at 2|, to form a sump 22.

A water supply-pipe 23, from some convenient source (not shown) enters the sump at one side, zigzags through the sump, passes to the sump at the other sides, zigzags through it, and then passes upwardly to the sprinkler 16 which will now be described by reference to Figures 4 and 5. The object of these zigzags will be explained later herein.

A bracket 26, fastened to the rear wall of easing H, extends horizontally to the middle of airpassage 18. The details of the sprinkler will now be described. See Figures 4 and 5. A circular assemblage of slanted blades 25 is built inte ral with vertical axle 2 5, which is journaled in bracket 24 near the end of the latter. Near the top of axle 26, and integral therewith, is a stop 21 above bracket 24, to keep the axle from sliding downward out of its journal in the bracket.

The top of axle 26 is preferably pointed. Above this point is a fixed stop 28, mounted on bracket 24. Preferably this fixed stop is resiliently mounted as by being a leaf-spring.

Bracket 24 also supports pipe 23. Pipe 23 ends in two nozzles 29, each approximately below half way out from the center to the circumference of the assemblage of blades, and each so directed as to discharge a stream of water in a vertical plane at right angles to pipe 23, upwardly and sidewardly at an inclination of approximately 45 degrees against the blades.

At the top of passage sucks air up through the passage and discharges it into duct 3 i.

Drain-pipe 32 maintains the proper water-level in sump 22.

The operation or our invention is as follows.

Water, passing through the zigzags of supply pipe 23 in sump 22 is pre-cooled by the evaporatively-cooled water in the sump, to nearly the wet-bulb temperature of the air. The thus precooled water then passes on through pipe 23 to sprinkler Fe.

The sprinkler, when at rest, hangs down, supported by stop 2? resting against the top of the endof bracket When the two jets from nozzle 29 impinge upon the blades 25, axle 25 is forced upwardly thereby until the point of the axle bears against the lower face of the end of spring stop 28. This contact affords an excellent bearing for the rotation of the assemblage of blades.

The two jets of water cause the assemblage to rotate, and the rotating of the assemblage causes the water to spray out in all directions.

Part of this spray, plus entrained water which this pad filters out of the air, keeps upper pad 26 thoroughly wet. Water dripping off the bottom face of upper pad 25, mixed with the rest of the spray, keeps lower pad ll thoroughly wet.

Roof I l and louvres is keep water out of conduit !3.

Air is sucked by fan 3%, upwardly through duct l2, conduit E3, louvres is, lower pad !"I, passage !e, upper pad 2% more of passage is, fan 39 itself, and out through duct 3 i.

In passing through lower pad ll, upper pad 29, and the spray-filled space between the two pads, the air becomes thoroughly evaporatively cooled to practically its wet-bulb temperature, and thereby the water itself, which drips oil the bottom of the lower pad, and then finds its way to sump 22, is cooled to almost this temperature, especially in the reverse air-flow variant which will be hereinafter mentioned.

Thus, as already explained earlier herein, this thus-cooled water precools other water flowing through the zigzags of pipe 23 on its way to sprinkler it, so that the spray-water is almost down to the wet-bulb temperature of the air when it first touches the air. Thus we achieve regenerative coolin without recirculation of the water.

This cooler of ours has a slight disadvantage in that some slight entrainment of mist in the air may occur. But, in the first place, most of this; entrained water is. filtered out by the upper i8 there is a fan 36, which pad, and anyway the disadvantage of whatever entrainment remains, is offset by our devices greater coolin eificiency, greater simplicity, lesser cost, and saving of water by evaporating nearly all the water supplied to it.

Our device, as described, is adapted to be used in the single air-stream of a desert cooler, and in outgoing air-stream of the Pennington patent or the Pennington application referred to near the beginnin of this specification.

If it be desired to use our invention in the incoming air-stream of the Pennington application, for example, all that is necessary is to reverse air-fantil' so as to force air downwardly, instead ofsucking air upwardly. This is because it is advisableior the two air-streams to counterflow through the rotary heat-transferer of the Pennington patent, and through both the rotary heat-transferer and the rotary moisture-transferer asthe Pennington application.

Certain modifications are possible in our invention. For example, other forms of sprinkler could be substituted, the bridge could be built below the lower pad, instead of in it, the pads could be vertical and the air passages horizontal, and/or the upper pad could be omitted. But, by and large, we prefer not to make any of these changes.

Having now describedone exemplification of our invention, we wish it to be understood that our inventionis not to be limited to the specific form or arrangement of parts herein described and shown.

We claim:

1. In an evaporative cooler for air-conditioning, the combination of: a substantially vertical air conduit; two substantially parallel spaced substantiallyhorizontal ioraminous air-permeable pads athwart the conduit; a liquid sprinkler centrally located between the two pads, so as to wet both pads; a liquid supply-pipe, leading to the sprinkler; a sump extending across the conduit below the lower of the two pads; a constricted portion of the conduit, extending vertically through the middle of the sump, directly below the sprinkler; a downwardly outwardly inclined roof completely covering the consticted portion, to prevent the entrance of water into this constricted portion and to divert the water into the sump; and openings in the sides of this constricted portion beneath the edges of the roof, to per-- mit the passage of air.

2. An evaporative cooler according to claim 1, further characterized by the fact that there is, below the room, an outwardly upwardly inclined baffle, extending substantially across the con-. stricted portion of the conduit, to divert the upward flow of air sidewardly through the side openings.

3. An evaporative cooler according to claim 2, further characterized by the fact that the side openings are protected by outwardly downwardly inclined louvres.

4,. An evaporative cooler, according to claim 1, further characterized by the fact that there is, below the roof, an outwardly upwardly inclined baffle, extending substantially across the constricted portion of the, conduit, to divert the upward flow of air sidewardly through the side 0 openings, and that the roof and the baiiie together constitute abridge, extending across the conduit, and serving to support the middle of the lower pad.

5 An evaporati've cooler, according to claim 1. further characterized by the iactthat the sprinthe axle is freely slidable axially; a stop associated with the axle to limit the downward sliding of the axle under the influence of gravity; and a flat leaf spring against the face of which near one end thereof the point only of the pointed end of the axle rests, when the assemblage is r pushed upwardly by the action of the jets.

References Cited in the me of this atent Number UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Quayle Apr. 20, 1897 Hale Feb. 22, 1898 Minton Sept. 24, 1918 Lindberg Mar. 5, 1935 Kurth May 30, 1939 Coey June 13, 1939 Grove Mar. 17, 1942 Gygax July 11, 1944. Godfrey Oct. 9, 1945 Rieger Jan. 3, 1950 

